thatonegamenerd

[thatonegamenerd]

I've never really noticed until now in the original RE1 when Chris and Jill reunite, that Chris' right hand seems to be on Jill's waist there. Then comparing it to the Remake (image from jillchrisgif), seeing both of Chris' hands on Jill's waist (or towards her waist I should say). All I know is it has me like:

[thatonegamenerd]

Fumito Ueda was inspired by… Willow (1988).

We get a brief backstory at the beginning of Willow with the following text - 'It is a time of dread. Seers have foretold the birth of a child who will bring about the downfall of the powerful Queen Bavmorda. Seizing all pregnant women in the realm, the evil Queen vows to destroy the child when it is born…' The child that the queen is after, a baby girl who has a distinctive marking on her arm, is placed on a raft to be carried down stream, out of danger. Willow finds the baby and throughout the movie, it's his task to protect her from the evil queen.

When Willow first encounters Madmartigan, a 'Lovable Rogue' who teams up with Willow, he's been imprisoned the same way as Yorda.

An army arrives with soldiers wearing helmets that made me think of the Shaman's Mask from Shadow of the Colossus.

An interior of Queen Bavmorda's castle and one from the castle in ICO -

At Tir Asleen, trolls climb around the ramparts, chasing after our heroes like shadow creatures.

Madmartigan takes down a two-headed monster in a manner I thought only Wander was capable of.

When Willow and Madmartigan arrive at Tir Asleen they find the people there have all been trapped in stone by Bavmorda. Willow is also in possession of magic acorns that turn to stone whatever they're thrown at. The queen in ICO has the power to turn people to stone - there are statues of horned boys that can be seen in the Idol Gates.

Apparently, Willow did very well in Japan and I think some brilliant young artists and storytellers were in those cinemas.

[thatonegamenerd]

ICO Regional Differences- What are they, really?

Intro: (You Can Skip This)

ICO is a game with a lot of interesting history behind it- while it never achieved the wider-spread acclaim of, say, Shadow of the Colossus, the title that came after it, it’s still beloved by a small but vocal fanbase to this day. 

Some know the story of the disaster of the North American release of the game. Its development was rushed to be out on the market in time for the Christmas season, which lead to it launching on September 24, 2001. In contrast, the game didn’t debut in Japan until December 06, 2001. This resulted in missing content, and alterations to puzzles. 

… Or so any online source will tell you, and then elaborate on NONE OF IT. 

Okay, not “none of it”. Some of the missing content is widely documented, but there are other miscellaneous changes that are only ever vaguely referenced, and rarely if ever are there comparison pictures included. If you are anything like me, or in other words are a huge nerd in general who must know every tiny detail of your niche interests and also rabid fan of all incarnations of ICO, this is infuriating on many levels. 

Now, all changes were restored in the HD remaster, released in September 2011. But comparison footage is scarce (mainly, I suspect, because only a few people besides myself are that bored), and copies of the original release are hard to come by to compare for oneself- my copy stopped working in 2015 after many years of love. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to scour the internet and document all the details myself- I found some very interesting and not so interesting things in my investigation. Hopefully, I covered just about everything.

Without further ado, here is what’s different about the original North American release of ICO, versus all later releases:

Things Everyone Knows: Missing New Game Plus Goodies, Yorda’s AI, and Horrible Art

These things are all widely covered and anyone with even a passing interest in the game already knows about them. If you don’t, there are tons of other sources and videos that explore these things in more depth, so I’m only going to summarize them briefly (links included for your convenience):

Missing Goodies

The New Game + bonuses are missing entirely, which include:

Two secret weapons you can obtain: the Spiked Club and Shining Sword. The Shining Sword can only be obtained if you previously acquired the Spiked Club.

A new visual option called Film Effect.

An optional extra ending cutscene (“the watermelon scene”)

Yorda and the Queen’s speech is translated

A two-player mode which allows another player with a second controller to play as Yorda

Yorda’s AI

Yorda’s AI was almost entirely unfinished in the NA version, to the frustration of many a player.

In the PAL/HD release, Yorda provides hints by pointing in the direction of important puzzle elements and saying Ico’s name, or looks/runs in the direction the player needs to go. She also has an animation where she shakes her head at you and utters a voice clip if you’re attempting to get her to perform an impossible jump or action, as if to say “I can’t do that.”.

In the NA version, she does none of this, and in fact spends most of her time standing still. Even if shadow creatures are approaching, she’ll stay exactly where she is and allow herself to be grabbed and carted away.

That Fuck Ugly Cover

The cover art for the game wasn’t finished when the game shipped to the US, which means for a long time many fans, including myself, were stuck having to look at this HIDEOUS thing:

(Left: Front cover, Right: Back cover)

The cover features a white-washed Yorda who doesn’t have pale skin and sports brown hair and purple eyes for some reason, and an Ico who looks like a caveman trying to remember if he left the oven on. Or maybe the bastard love-child of Bruce Campbell and some unfortunate bovine.

(Fun fact: while editing the images for this post I made a strange discovery- there are TWO versions of this awful thing. The second looks like this.)

The PAL/HD version’s art looks like this:

(Left: Back cover, Right: Front cover)

Much nicer.

Altered Puzzles: Which ones, and How?

The Windmill

Okay, I barely count this as an actual difference, but you can occasionally find reference to it, so I’ll cover it briefly:

In the PAL/HD version, there’s this little block/ledge you have to jump on to get onto the Windmill.

In the NA version the platform/stairs appear to be taller or the first ledge is lower, so you can just kinda jump up there.

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

That’s literally it. The rest of the puzzle is identical across all versions.

The Watermill

This puzzle is actually different- or more accurately, doesn’t exist.

Upon entering the room immediately proceeding the “water” elements of said puzzle, your eye may be caught by this interesting contraption (commonly referred to as “the piston” or “the piston jump”):

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

Unless of course you’re playing the NA version, where there is absolutely nothing here.

From here, you’ll climb up a ladder on the other side of the room and then shimmy across some pipes in the wall, then drop down onto this platform.

(Top: Switch, Bottom: No Switch. What switch? There was never a switch! Go away!)

In the PAL/HD version, you’ll pull this switch, which activates the piston. You’ll then proceed back to the floor to climb atop the piston and do a timed jump off it as it bounces upwards, which will catapult Ico high enough to reach some ledges/boards along the wall and make his way up to the ledge, and door, that leads to the next section.

In the NA version, since there is no piston and no switch, Ico simply continues to shimmy along another long pipe in order to reach this same ledge. This is not possible in the HD version, as here the pipe is shorter and doesn’t go that far.

Top: Broken pipe, Bottom: Looong pipe)

The smaller ledges/boards the ICO would grab onto after performing the piston jump are also absent. Rather than being one solid wall, the ledge simply juts out into the air.

We continue on with the rest of this puzzle still being totally gutted in the NA version. Allow me to summarize:

In the HD version: Once outside, ICO jumps onto the waterwheel, then onto the pipe looking thing on the wall, which he climbs up to reach the giant lever to drop the water gate.

In the NA version: Ico suicide jumps into the rushing water like a fool, manages to catch the ledge near the end, and then climbs up a conveniently placed ladder.

(this ladder does exist in the HD version, but it’s more than half broken, so Ico can use it to partially climb down off the platform with the giant lever, but not to climb up)

(Top: Waterwheel, Bottom: No waterwheel)

(Top: Jump on the wheel, Bottom: YOLO)

(Top: Jump on the pole-y thing, climb up and turn the switch, broken ladder around the corner, Bottom: Ladders are puzzles, right?)

Obviously this is pretty ridiculous. One can only assume that the models used in this puzzle weren’t finished when the game released in America. I know that young me was thoroughly stumped when I first encountered this area, as I didn’t assume the solution was to sprint headlong into the rushing water, and spent entirely too long wandering around the environment looking for clues that didn’t exist.

That about covers the changes made to any puzzles themselves. If you want to be SUPER nitpicky, in the PAL/HD version, you have to hit the chandelier with the stick once to make it fall, whereas in the NA version you only have to jump on it. With that, we’ve now covered all actual changes or missing pieces of all puzzles.

Gameplay and Controls:

Cutscenes are skippable in the PAL/HD version, whereas the NA version allows you to skip exactly three: Yorda leaving her cage, the first scene at the main gate, and the water tower exploding. All other cutscenes cannot be skipped.

Controls are altered slightly. In most versions you must hold down R1 to maintain grip on Yorda’s hand, but in the NA version you need only press it once, and she’ll hang on until you either press it again or break grip somehow. (I understand there is an option to change this in the menu)

Climbing is performed with only triangle in most versions. The NA version climbs with both triangle and UP. Also apparently dropping from chains automatically catches you in the PAL version. Falling to your death is the American Way.

Shadow Creatures

Shadow creatures are WEAKER in the PAL/HD version. In this version, large shadows have 11 HP, small shadows have 7. In the NA version, shadows have 14 HP. They’re also more aggressive, can hit through your swings rather than be parried, fly faster while carrying Yorda, and spider shadows can hit you. Practically halfway across the goddamn room, in fact.

A few sources I read said shadow pools had different or more/less frequent spawn points, but in my research I wasn’t personally able to find the differences they were talking about. The only one I did find is a slight change in timing: Pulling the switch to lower the drawbridge at the Gondola immediately spawns several Shadow gates in the NA version. In the HD version, the portals do not spawn until Ico and Yorda approach the drawbridge.

Visual Differences: Unfinished Models, Lack of Polish, Altered Camera Angles, and other tweaks

The first and most glaring difference I’d like to note is something I can’t believe I couldn’t find mentioned on any source that I personally checked: Yorda’s character model. Her hair length and style have been significantly altered: The NA model has longer hair and prominent bangs, whereas the final version is much shorter and choppier. Personally I like the NA model better, but that’s neither here nor there. 

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

It really goes to show how desperate they were to release this game in time for the Christmas rush when one out of two main character’s models hadn’t been finalized.

While we’re on the subject of Yorda, several of the visual effects involving her close to the game’s climax were also not complete.

When ICO and Yorda finally open the castle gate, Yorda is zapped of power and energy. To illustrate this, her hair completely loses its color and turns the same stark white as her skin. This change is not present in the NA version.

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

Not long after this, when the Queen appears behind Yorda on the bridge, a shadowy effect ominously begins to encroach upon and finally engulf Yorda. Here you can see this effect looks very different.

(Left: HD/PAL Right: NA)

Finally the model for stone/statue Yorda is different. It sports the same hair model as regular NA Yorda and also has unpolished lighting/shading.

(Top: HD/PAL, Bottom: NA)

Beyond that, visual differences are actually quite minor.

The title screen says “Continue” rather than “Load” and sports the same altered font used by the rest of the game.

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

The save screen has been similarly updated.

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

We have a different font for dialogue too.

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

The model for this switch, which is used at both the Watermill and the Gondola, wasn’t finished in the NA version.

(Top: HD/PAL, Bottom: NA)

This platform has GRASS. (it is however the same platform which is missing a switch and half of a drawbridge, which I’ll get to in a minute.)

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

The cutscene where Ico picks up the queen’s sword is different- the camera angles are changed and he has a different animation. (Sorry, this was so minor and goes by so quickly I couldn’t really capture any decent pictures of it)

The cutscene where Ico discovers stone Yorda surrounded by shadow creatures is slightly different-

The NA version is at a different, more zoomed out camera angle, where you can see the shadows more clearly.

The HD version begins at a lower camera angle, and then switches to zoom in on stone Yorda. The shadow creatures also have a slightly different animation when looming over stone Yorda and when Ico approaches them at the top of the stairs.

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

The shadow creatures also have different animations for attacking Ico, like scampering and lunging, whereas in the NA version they primarily just fly around and jump backwards.

Shadow Yorda’s model also looks a little more refined to me, but it’s basically the same.

The scene in the credits where Ico and Yorda run toward the castle gate is shown from a different angle, as are the scenes of Ico and Yorda meeting.

Finally, the NA version says “Fin”, but the HD version says “end”.

Moved Props and other weird stuff

These changes are so minor or so useless I don’t really count them as puzzles differences, but technically they aren’t purely visual differences. Geometry differences?

This switch/couch has been moved around (beginning of the trolley area). Actually, I don’t think there’s a couch anywhere in this area at all. On top of the large platform is where the switch is supposed to be.

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

In the Stone Pillar area, the block you need to push off the ledge to pull Yorda up is right next to the edge of the ledge in the NA version, but located further away in the corner of the grassy area in the HD version. Similarly, the box ICO has to push into the water at the Watermill is located on the edge of the ledge in the NA version, but here again is located in a further corner of the area in the HD version. (Couldn’t get any decent pictures of this)

A somewhat bigger change can be found on the same platform that has GRASS.

In the PAL/HD version, there is a lowered drawbridge here, and a switch that activates it. This bridge leads back into the room near the beginning of the game where you have to push a crate to raise the staircase, for… reasons? There’s no reason you need to go back into this room, so why it exist in the first place is somewhat puzzling. (I’m given to understand there’s some kind of speedrunning trick involving it, for whatever that’s worth)

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

In the NA version, there’s no switch, and it’s just the remains of a crumbled bridge.

The chandelier boards are flat and BORING, making the chandelier easier to see.

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

This save couch only exists in the NA version.

(Left: HD/PAL, Right: NA)

In the room which you enter from the cemetery, the NA version has a random rail added here.

This rail does not exist in the PAL/HD version. You can walk onto the ledge to go…

… exactly nowhere.

In the courtyard, there’s a little door you can walk through the leads you out onto the balcony overlooking the cemetery. Neat! Shows you how the castle is put together.

In the NA version, this door is a wall.

(Left: NA, Right: HD/PAL)

This doorway that leads back to castle gate once it is ready to be opened is blocked by Idol doors in the NA version, whereas in the PAL/HD version it’s open.

(Top: HD/PAL, Bottom: NA)

When Ico enters the door to the final boss area, he steps on a platform that lifts upwards (like an elevator to the room). In the NA version, he simply walks through the door.

Misc:

“You Were There” starts playing at an earlier point in the cutscene where shadow Yorda carries Ico to the boat in the HD/PAL version.

Last but not least, my favorite difference of them all: Ico can inexplicably pull the light reflectors much faster in the NA version.

Conclusion:

At the end of the day, the NA release of Ico is, at heart, the same game- merely lacking the small remaining amount of time and polish it needed and deserved. One can only speculate whether it would have garnered more mainstream acclaim in the west if it had gotten these things, rather than the rush job it did get. Nevertheless, myself and many others who opened up that ghastly-looking box on Christmas morning still look back on it fondly. For all those wondering what exactly it was we missed out, I think I covered it- but let me know if you spotted anything I missed!

This has been silly post on a topic I enjoy. Maybe you enjoyed it as well!

Sources:

ICO Wiki

Speedrun.com

Nomad’s Blog

Ico HD Walkthrough - EightbitHD

PS2 - ICO - Longplay - Levan

[thatonegamenerd]

I don't think I'd previously seen this - an ad for The Last Guardian's Japanese release that capitalizes on nostalgia for Ico. Subtitled in English thanks to Ico-tuber MysticOde!

[thatonegamenerd]

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[thatonegamenerd]

Ueda-san's departure from Japan Studio

I just had a crazy thought as I woke up in the middle of the night, so this is probably nothing. But I can't stop thinking about it.

In the reveal trailer for genDESIGN's Project: Robot, we see a humanoid climbing a colossal robot as a shockwave rapidly carries destructive debris their way. I don't have any lore speculation, rather a thematic hypothesis as to one of the subtle meanings behind this trailer and possibly the game as a whole.

I believe that the humanoid piloting the head of the robot as it violently detaches itself from the body could be seen as Ueda-san and other key staff leaving Japan Studio during production on The Last Guardian (even though they technically "stayed" on to complete that game before fully "detaching"). And the visual of the remaining robot body is Japan Studio, which we watch get completely destroyed (perhaps how not too long after the departure of Ueda-san, Japan Studio would essentially be shut down save for Team Asobi). Even the flying head and pilot seem to be swept up by the destructive wave, potentially implying that genDESIGN's future is also uncertain.

I know, I'm probably reading too much into it, but I think it could be an interesting lens to view this new work! Or it could just be random sleep thoughts that got jumbled together into something resembling an epiphany.

[thatonegamenerd]

My final video of the year is up! This one is a bit more speculative than usual, but that just leaves it more open to audience interpretation. I'd love to hear what people think of this late-game R1 function and why it works like this.

[thatonegamenerd]

In the shadow of the horns: meditations on Team Ico's works – 2½. Project: Robot

Okay, there's only so much mileage I can get out of less than these two minutes of footage – even though it's, ahem, actual gameplay, which I believe is a mystifying statement at best. This, and I should probably be talking about The Last Guardian first, right? All of this is true. I raise you this: episode 1 was about Shadow of the Colossus, as opposed to Ico, so I've already set a precedent for being weird about the order this is going to take. Secondly, and more importantly, it's going to take a really long while before I go back to The Last Guardian. Not because I did not like the game: quite the opposite, actually, I thought it was stunning, but more on that when I actually write about it. It's just going to take a lot of concentration to replay it while taking notes and trying to ignore the sounds of my PS4 lifting off as the game runs. So let's focus on this much less electricity-intensive task first, shall we?

It's some dude (gender neutral) with a mask who climbs on top of some gigantic robot, goes on top of its head and has it detach, taking flight to avoid some kind of massive storm approaching. It's like a cross between Dormin's darkness and space debris as seen on the rings of Saturn/an asteroid belt. The head and its occupant are however quickly taken away by the storm itself and that's where the trailer ends. Some have speculated that this might already be a gameplay loop on its own, but – given the sheer amount of setpieces displayed by The Last Guardian – I'm inclined to think the exact opposite. My hopes are as follows: not only is this not representative of the final gameplay loop, but this is literally just the game's intro, or something.

Check this out: what if it's like Shadow of the Colossus, wherein perhaps there's a repeating gameplay loop of sorts that focuses heavily on exploration (of some deeper, fuller world than that of SotC – or maybe something even emptier, better conveyed through more powerful technology), but with the added narrative thing from The Last Guardian thrown in for good measure. Sort of à la Death Stranding when it actually starts gaining steam, in a way, but with the added Ueda thing where everything is melancholy and faraway and stunningly silent and meditative. Which is actually why I called this series a set of meditations, of all things – these are games that invite a level of thought that doesn't necessarily take the usual steps that Aristotle-based logic – for lack of a better word that isn't "Western", which one could see as sort of a cop-out in this scenario – would deem indispensable.

Such an approach, for starters, would explain the use of English in the spoken bits of the game. I've been playing Outer Wilds lately (thank you @alexswordsman for insisting that I give it a shot – you were right all along) and see, now that's a game that sounds like a solid peer to what I hope this one big ass robot game turns out to be. The idea is that the so-called plot of the game may be lived entirely in retrospect, but keeping the usual cryptic approach that Ueda and the team seem to favor in their storytelling. So there's this dude (gender neutral) who has to repair their robot, or somehow traverse a landscape, and in the meantime they come to learn… something, I guess, about who was here before? Or maybe just who was hit the hardest by that debris storm from the trailer, mere hours ago? Who knows, not me, I'm just speculating because I have way too much free time on my hands. Would love to hear you guys' thoughts on the matter. Gender neutral, of course.

I realize I'm still trying to think of Ueda as a creative, after all of these years, in one of two ways:

he's doing his usual thing, and he's thinking within his own box.

he's looking out to other developers in attempts to make a mishmash of random cool titles that might have interesting elements.

The problem with both of these lines of thought is that it makes no sense to close off one or the other. I can't shake the feeling that there will be, simultaneously, more and less than what I've discussed above. Again, this entire post is nothing more than a bunch of speculation and opinions piled together into a trenchcoat, but I'm still feeling way too up in the air about this. The one thing I'm sure of is, I am really excited about this. My best hope for this is not that it finds its market niche, or its "target audience", or any of that BMA crap. I just hope it's a good Ueda game, one that strikes emotional chords with the same grace and poise and elegance as the others do.

Now for another robot song, and it's the last one, I swear.

[thatonegamenerd]

What a character design. They look so atypical, and yet, its very clearly a Fumito Ueda concept.

[thatonegamenerd]

BREADWOLF TIME!

12/15/24 I finished a replay of DA:I in anticipation of DA: Breadwolf and my opinions from nearly a decade ago are entirely the same. lol. reblog for continued posterity.

my super casual thoughts on finishing dragon age: inquisition

disclaimer I only finished da:o 2 weeks ago trying to rush but I did complete most of da2 minus dlcs

Keep reading

[thatonegamenerd]

Bullet points on Project Robot

So, I've decided I do plan to do a stream analyzing the trailer - however I'm not sure how soon this will be, as it will take some prep and I'm not really used to doing stuff like it (& some other reasons). I also want to wait at least a week or 2 to see if any more info or interviews come out.

But I don't just want to save all my thoughts for that so I figured I'd write some of my major ones here, and you can assume these will be elaborated on in the stream:

I've been extremely satisfied with the general audience reception to the trailer. People know Ueda's 3 games, and in the many reactions I've watched, any scoffing at "Epic Games Publishing Presents" was immediately cast aside once the "from the creator of" text appeared.

I love how much of a fan Geoff Keighley is, referring to the game as "highly anticipated" even though no one but hardcore Ueda fans would really even know it was in the works

There is a background noise at the beginning of the trailer sounds extremely similar to this oscillating sort of noise heard at the beginning and end of "You Were There."

The English, to me, is an early indication that this game will likely not be connected to the others, or will be connected very loosely as TLG was.

The first close-up shot of the character's costume - I wonder why that's there?

Could this be Ueda's first female playable character?

I love that it's a gameplay clip - I think we will be playing through a situation, or multiple, just like this in the actual game.

It's going to be a big game, Ueda's biggest yet potentially by far.

Insanely, it could be said that this is the first Ueda game to start development in the period after games began to be heavily inspired by Ico & SotC. Dev for The Last Guardian would have likely began before that happened (pre-Demon's Souls at least.) This could have impacted his desire to do something a little different.

We know Ueda does have a desire for his games to be loved by a larger audience, but I don't think that will ever compromise his games being so....him. I think it is good to keep in mind for this game though.

The animations, of course, are spot-on.

The robot is so detailed, every part rendered. The art of the robot arm was so detailed, it doesn't surprise me to see that.

It strikes me that the robot does not look friendly or like something we should get attached to. The body may be considered disposable by the main character - perhaps the head is as well? If there is a companion character in this game, it may not be the robot, per se.

I don't think we will see the girl and beast from the 2018 New Year's card at all in this.

I'm not sure there will be much combat and this may be more of an exploration game like Death Stranding.

What could have possibly caused massive explosions of mechanical detritus to be spreading across the land at regular intervals? I think they are reoccurring and will be a main obstacle in this game. It reminds me of the section of "Inside" where an extremely destructive shockwave emanates every few seconds from an unknown source.

From far away, the shockwave looks like shadow or dark magic, like in Ueda's other games. It surprised me to see that it was just a bunch of big mechanical parts.

That's all for now! If you have any thoughts or ideas feel free to comment or send an ask, I will respond.

[thatonegamenerd]

THE NEW GAME FROM FUMITO UEDA‼️

I repeat

THE NEW GAME FROM FUMITO UEDA‼️

The genius creator of ICO, Shadow Of The Colossus, and The Last Guardian, the greatest masterpieces of entire gaming history that inspired so many developers and titles

I can't stress this enough, how freaking BIG this is going to be

[thatonegamenerd]

Here is the official Youtube upload.

[thatonegamenerd]

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LOUD I SCREAMED! IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS GAME!

[thatonegamenerd]

I almost can't believe there's a full image of this. How long has it been?

[thatonegamenerd]

OKAMI OKAMI OKAMI OKAMI OKAMI OKAMI OKAMI!!!!!!!!!!! OKAMI!!!!

[thatonegamenerd]

- the last guardian -